The Preview | Round 4 V Gold Coast

Written By Ari Stamatakos

Season So Far: 

From prime time footy to Sunday 1:10, to Sunday 4:10. The graveyard shift. Despite Carlton's unbelievable start to season 2022, they are forced to prove themselves on the graveyard shift. This fixture is one that Carlton fans have come accustomed to over the years, as the constant poor results mean that their watchability factor has drastically decreased.

That was until Michael Voss. And now, in the space of one off-season, the Blues are one of the most watchable teams in the comp. Tough and contested, with some of the league’s best bookends as Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay tearing opposition defences apart. While Jacob Weitering is keeping the league’s best forwards quiet. However, the Blues’ success has come from the midfield. Patrick Cripps, Matt Kennedy, and Sam Walsh have gone to different levels, and the arrivals of George Hewett and Adam Cerra have taken this once ok midfield, to an unbelievable one. 

This group encapsulates what Michael Voss was as a player. Tough, competitive, and rugged, not giving up at any stoppage and putting his head over every ground ball. This side has all those assets in spades. Starting the season 3-0 was something Blues fans would’ve dreamed of, considering the level of opposition in the early rounds. 

Coming up against the dynasty Tigers and the roaring Dogs, it was always going to be tough to win one of those games, let alone both. And in an ironic twist of fate, it was the Hawks, who pre-season were deemed to be the easiest of the opening three rounds, who gave the Blues their toughest test.

After streaming to a seven-goal lead early in the second, the Hawks methodically, and slowly, clawed their way back into the game. Eventually hitting the front through a Jack Gunston goal. However, when there’s a will, there’s a way. And Jack Silvagni put the Blues back in front and from there it was a nervous five minutes. The Blues held on to secure another four points, starting the season 3-0 for the first time in a decade. 

This show of character in the face of adversity is a true indicator of where this group is at. While it would have been nice to see the Blues put the foot down and stamp their authority when they led by seven goals. They could've, and probably should've put the game to bed. However, to stay composed and remain calm when the storm was pushing right into their faces, shows that this young group is growing the mentality that will take them places. 

After the Hawks hit the front, the Blues didn’t panic. They didn’t move or waiver from their game plan, they remained patient and waited for their chance to come. And when Corey Durdin's goal was ruled out in a score review, they remained calm and waited for their time to come. This has typified the Carlton way over the past three games, and this 1 point win has put faith in all Blues fan's minds that they can get the job done when their backs are against the wall. 

Moving to Queensland, the Gold Coast Suns are in a really weird spot as an organization. They are coming towards the latter stages of their rebuild and the likes of Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Izak Rankine and Jack Lukosius are all starting to hit their strides as AFL footballers. Couple this with the likes of Touk Miller taking his game to a completely different level over the last 24 months, and there are seeds for a really exciting future for the Suns.

However, nothing seems to be going right for them. Firstly, Hugh Greenwood jumped ship to North Melbourne. Then they lose Ben King in the pre-season with a knee injury. It always seems that it's 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards for the Suns. 

This goes for their start to the season. Wining their opening match to a very undermanned West Coast outfit in a pretty good performance. Before respectably losing to the Dees, being competitive throughout and holding the lead for some parts of the outing. Then they versed the Giants in a dismal display. Lacking fight and effort and were completely outrun by a Giants outfit that was lacked any real hunger in their opening two games. 

Normally, the start of the season is where the Suns do their best work, however, it seems that it’s one season too many for them and their luck has run out. They verse a hungry and roaring Carlton outfit that is completely different to the one of 2021.

Normally, Gold Coast match up very well against the Blues. Being able to compete with them in the midfield and nullifying the talls at either end. However, they haven’t come up against the Michael Voss Blues, a Carlton outfit that would destroy that of 2021 and 2020. 

Team News

There have been more Heath and Safety protocols that the Blues will have to suffer through for this match. They can’t seem to avoid it, as Durdin is the main player at this stage that will miss, with Tom Williamson, Jack Carroll and Jesse Motlop all rumoured to be close contacts. This means that it will likely be Lachie Fogarty or Jack Martin to return to the side. We are also pending the results of a fitness test of Marc Pittonet, who was subbed off late in the game against the Hawks. Adam Saad will exit the Health and Safety protocols on Saturday so his availability will be up in the air as well.

The Suns will likely see the return of small forward Izak Rankine, who has missed the last two games through a corked quad. He has completed training throughout the week so his inclusion is looking very likely at this stage. 

Prediction: Carlton by 34 points